Germantown Board of Education transfer policy moves to second reading

The Germantown Municipal School District Board of Education voted to amend the transfer policy at its meeting Monday.

The amendment must go through a second reading and be approved before the policy takes effect. The second reading will be at the Dec 18 meeting.

According to Germantown Schools' first 20-day count, there are 5,964 students in the district's schools and 25 percent are non-residents.

The policy affects those who transfer from outside the district and those who transfer within the district's schools.

The amendment removes a line in the current policy that students are granted transfer status through an exit year, which is fifth or eighth grade. The amendment will not allow students to automatically keep their transfer status. It allows the district to reassess the size of schools and the district each year.

Parents and guardians will be notified by June 6 each year of a student's transfer status.

In a previous draft of the policy, the district had gotten rid of a lottery system that would award seats, if there were not enough, based on a district-set priority level. However, in the work session prior to the meeting, the board asked to add it back.

Chauncey Bland, executive director of student services, said the policy had never been used, but board members asked for it to be kept in case it was needed in future instances.